Apparatus for generating gaseous mixtures



Aug. 9, 1932. M: E. CARROLL APPARATUS FOR -GENERATING GASEOUS MIXTURES Filed March '7, 1930 2 Sheets-Shee l gwumtoz JY. E i'arrall .Aug- 9, M. E. CARROLL 1,871,302

APPARATUS FOR GENERATING GASEOUS MIXTURES Filed March 7, 1930 2. Sheets-Shee 2 ,5z 7 7% @4 b 0- a 1% 0 0 0 o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 G G 0 9 9 0 C) 0 gwvmtoz E. Chrrall.

Patented Aug. 9, 1932 UNITED- STATES PATENT OFFICE MANLY E. CARROLL, OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, ASSIGNOR TO AIR-O-GAS GENERATORS, INCORPORATED, OF MIAMI, FLORIDA APPARATUS FOR GENERATING GASEOUS MIXTURES Application filed March 7, 1930. Serial No. 434,089.

This invention relates to improvements in devices for generating a dry gaseous fuel mixture from a base gas such as air, and a liquid fuel, for example, gasoline, and while the device may be used for generating a fuel mixture for automotive engines, it will be apparent to persons familiar with such struc tures, that the device may also be employed to generate a gaseous mixture for heating, lighting, etc.

Heretofore, it has been proposed to utilize the suction of an internal combustion engine to draw air through a pool of liquid motor fuel, such as gasoline, and to thus make the explosive mixture for the engine. However, in such proposals, the engine suction tends, instead, to separate lighter from heavier hydrocarbons, whereby, for a short time, a fuel mixture will pass to the engine, and afterwards, the mixture will consist of more and more air, due to the fact that air flows through the air vent of the tank instead of through the liquid pool, and consequently, does not entrain the heavier hydrocarbons.

Therefore, one of the salient objects of the present invention is to provide a continuous passageway from the atmosphere to the intake manifold of the engine, a portion of said passagewaybeing submerged within the gasoline in the tank, and this portion having one or more inlets of a suitable size to permit the gasoline to flow in regulated quantity into the passageway, whereby the air inftravelling through the latter, will automatically vaporize the gasoline and a gaseous mixture will result, which may be fed, preferably diluted with secondary air, to the engine, due to the suction of the latter.

Another object of the invention is to furnish a structure of this character, in which the main pool of gasoline in the tank is segregated from the outlet pipe of the latter, so as to prevent suction in the outlet pipe from drawing off lighter portions of the liquid when the engine is started.

A still further object is to furnish a device of this nature, in which the passageway is of tortuous or bafiied construction, so as to cause the liquid hydrocarbons under the influence 5 of the travelling stream of air, to be violent- 1y thrown against contact surfaces for the purpose of breaking p and gasifyin th liquid particles. I q

A still further object is to provide a generator divided by an imperforate partition, into superposed chambers, the upper one of which isnot alone baflled to distribute the air, but is also baflied to prevent any splashing of liquid which may enter the upper comp'artment. 1

Another object is to furnish a fuel tank which may be substituted for the'ordinary gasoline tank of a motor vehicle, and which will eliminate the necessity of using the or.- dinary carburetor, the improved tank having in its upper portion, a baflle plate provided with a number of apertures, the total area of which is greatly in excess of the area of the outlet pipe of the tank, so as to ef fectively cause the deposition densates which have not been completely gasified While the stream of air is flowing through the tank.

With the foregoing objects outlined and with other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described in detail, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig.1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of one form of the improved generator.

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the main baffle plate used in the upper part of the generator.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of a portion of the honeycomb bafiie of the upper compartment.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the air distributor baffle of the upper compartment.

In the drawings, 6 designates a tank of suitable material, such as metal, which is preferably divided by a V-shaped imperforate baffle 7 into an upper chamber 8, and a lower chamber 9, the latter having a suitable capacity for the purpose for which this device .is to be employed. A filling tube for of liquid coni wide tube 15, which extends up one end of the tank, and has its upper end portion turned over in substantiallyinverted U-shape, as

shown at 16. The mouth of this tube is preferably fitted with a screen 17 to prevent dust or the like from being drawn into the tube.

The portion of the chamber 9 which is between the baflle 7 and the upperone of the corrugated plates 12,:forms the fuel storage space of the device, and one ;of the lowest points of this space is connected by a pipe 18 to a triangular chamber 19, into which the gasoline flowsbefore it passes through inlet ports 20 into the :inlet end 14 of the tortuous passageway. The number of the ports 20 will be such as to allow the proper amount of gasoline to flowinto the tortuous passageway to form a propervexplosive mixture for the engine with which the device is used, and it will be explained later how this inflowing fuel is gasified and entrained by anair stream which is drawn to the engine by the suction of the latter.

The outlet end 21 of'the tortuous passageway communicates with thelowest portion 22 of the battle 7, so that the mixture drawn through the passageway is discharged into the upper chamber 8.

-As the outlet 21 extends entirely across the tank, it will be understood that the chamber 9 is really constituted by two compartments arranged at opposite sides of the outlet 21, and in order that conditions may be maintained uniform. in both of these compartments, the compartments communicate by means of a smalltube 23.

Another tube 24 places the triangular chamber 19 incommunication with the chamber 9, so that uniform conditions may be maintained in the chamber 9 and chamber 19.

Suitable means for distributing the stream as it flows from the outlet 21 may take the form of a V-shaped distributing plate 25. This plateextends entirely across the tank just above the medial portion of the bafiie 7 and the distributor plate is ape-rtured, as best shown in Fig. 5, smaller apertures 26 being provided near the center of the distributor plate, and increasingly larger apertures 27 and 28 being arranged toward the outer edges of the plate.

A honeycomb baflle 29 is arranged in the compartment 8, and its lower edge portion 30 conforms substantially to the configuration of the baflle 7, while its upper edge portion 31 is preferably horizontal. The baflle 29 forms a multiplicity of vertical tubes which increase in length from the ends of the tank toward the'medial portion of the latter, and consequently, any liquid which gathers inthe upper compartment is prevented from splashingand thus travelling to the engine without being properly gasified.

Another baffle 32 is preferably horizontally disposed in the chamber 8, above the honeycomb baffle, and the baffle 32 is provided with a number of rows of apertures 33, each of these apertures being of about the same area as the area of the outlet pipe 34 of the tank, whereby any entrained condensates rising with the air travelling through the tank, are caused to be released.

An outlet tube 35 leads from the top of the tank to the exit pipe 34, and the tube 35 has inlet ports 36 which are staggered relatively to the apertures 33 of the plate 32 for the purpose of battling any liquid globules that tend to travel with the air stream.

It has been found in practice that the device will function more efficiently if the fuel is maintained at a uniform temperature, so I provide the same with a suitable heating means. For example, the tank may have a false bottom so as to provide the same with. a heating chamber 37, and exhaust gases from an engine may be introduced into this chamber at 38, and discharged at 39. It is preferred that the intake 38 be in close proximity to the compartment 19, not alone for the purpose of more highly heating the fuel as it passes into the tortuous passageway, but to also eliminate some of the cold which is created by the evaporation of the gasoline at the point 14.

The chamber 19may have a sump 40, furnished with a valved outlet 41 to allow for drainage and cleaning.

In'the operation of the generator for furnishing dry gas to the intake manifold of an internal combustion engine, let it be assumed. that the pipe 34 is connected to said manifold, and the chamber 9 is filled with a suitable liquid motor fuel such as gasoline. Obviously, at such time, the fuel will flow through the ports 20, fill the tortuousPassageway 31, and finally reach a level in the chamber 8 which will coincide with the level of the liquid in the chamber 9.

Now, if the engine is started, suction will be'exerted in the chamber 8, and as that chamber communicates with the atmosphere by way of the tube 15 only, air will be sucked. through said tube and through the tortuous passageway, and 'be discharged into the chamber 8. In travelling through the tortuous passageway, it will violently agitate and break up the liquid contained therein, and then in discharging from the outlet 22, it will be laterally distributed by the baflie 25, some of. the air passing through this battle, but the major portion of the air passing around the ends of the same. In this way, the air will be diflused through the liquid, and as the liquid has been broken up in the manner heretofore described, the air forms a gaseous mixture with the vaporized liquid, and this gaseous mixture will be drawn through the baiile 32, and into the outlet tube 35, and any liquid particles remalning ungasified, will be precipitated by the baflles in the upper chamber, and will again enter the liquid pool.

In this way, the suction of the engine may be depending upon to form a relatively dry gaseous mixture, and of course, the length of the tortuous passageway will determine the extent to which said mixture is broken While I have disclosed a specific embodiment of the invention as used in connection with an automotive engine, it is apparent that a generator employing the principle of the invention may be used wherever it is deslred to make a relatively dry gaseous mixture from air or other base gas and a volatile liquid.

From the foregoing it is believed that the construction, operation and advantages of the invention may be readily understood, and it is obvious that changes may be made in the details disclosed, without departing from the spirit of the invention, as expressed in the claims.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is 1. In a device of the character described, a closed tank having an imperforate partition dividing the same into first and second chambers and preventing communication between the chambers, an outlet for the second chamber, an air passageway arranged within the first chamber and having an inlet portion extending above the first chamber and its outlet communicating with the second chamber through said partition, the second chamber being provided with internal bafiies.

2. In a device of the character described, a closed tank, an imperforate baffle in the tank dividing the same into superposed chambers, a gas outlet for the upper chamber, a tortuous air passageway in the lower chamber having an outlet discharging into the upper chamber, an intake tube for the passageway, a port for feeding liquid from the lower chamber into the passageway in close proximity to the point where the latter joins said tube, and baffles arranged in the upper chamber.

3. In a device of the character described, a closed tank, an imperforate battle in the tank dividing the same into superposed chambers, a gas outlet for the upper chamber, a tortuous air passageway in the lower chamber having an outlet discharging into the upper chamber, an intake tube for the passageway, a port for feeding liquid from the lower chamber into the passageway in close proximity to the point where the latter joins said tube, and perforated baflles arranged in the upper chamber.

4:. In a device of the character described, a closed tank, an imperforate bathe in the tank dividing the same into superposed chambers, a gas outlet for the upper chamber, a tortuous air passageway in the lower chamber having an outlet discharging into the up per chamber, an intake tube for the passageway, a port for feeding liquid from the lower chamber into the passageway in close proximity to the point where the latter oins said tube, and a honeycomb baflie arranged in the upper chamber.

5. In a device of the character described, a closed tank, an imperforate battle in the tank dividing the same into a superposed chambers, a gas outlet for the upper chamber, a tortuous air passageway in the lower chamber having an outlet discharging into the upper chamber, an intake tube for the passageway, a port for feeding liquid from the lower chamber into the passageway in close proximityto the point where the latter joins said tube, and a distributor arranged in the upper chamber and adapted to diffuse air discharged into the latter from said passageway.

6. In a device of the character described, a closed tank, an imperforate substantially V- shaped partition div ding the interior of the tank into upper and lower chambers, atortuous passageway arranged in the lower chamber and having an outlet discharging into the upper chamber through the lower portion of said partition, an air inlet tube leading from a point above the lower chamber to the entrance end of said passageway, means including a port for feeding liquid from the lower chamber into the entrance end of said passageway, and a distributor plate of substantially the same shape as the partition, arranged immediately above the medial portion of the latter. I

7 In a device of the character described, a closed tank, an imperforate substantially V-shaped partition divid ng the interior of the tank into upper and lower chambers, a tortuous passageway arranged in the lower chamber and having an outlet discharging into the upper chamber through the lower portion of said partition, an air inlet tube leading from a point above the lower chamber to the entrance end of said passageway, means including a port for feeding liquid from the lower chamber into the entrance end of said passageway, and a honeycomb balile positioned in the upper chamber and having its lower edge portion substantially conforming to the shape of said partition.

8. In a device of the character described, a

closed tank, an imperforate substantially V- V ber and having an outlet discharging into 7 the upper chamber through the lower portion of said partition, an air inlet tube leading from a point above the lower chamber to the entrance end of said passageway, means including a port for feeding liquid from the lower chamber into the entranceend of said passageway, a distributor in the upper chamber above the outlet of the passageway, and baffles arranged in the upper chamber above said distributor.

9. In a device of the character described, i

a closed tank, an imperforate substantially V-shaped partition dividing the interior of the tank into upper and lower chambers, a tortuous passageway arranged in the lower chamber and having an outlet discharging into the upper chamber through the lower portion of said partition, an air inlet tube leading from 'a point above the lower chamber to the entrance end of said passageway, means including a port for feeding liquid from the lower chamber into the entrance end of said passageway, a perforated distributor arrangedin the upper chamber immediately above the outlet of the passageway, a honeycomb bafHepositioned in the upper chamber above said distributor, and a. perforated baffle in the upper chamber above the honeycomb baflle. 7

10. A device of the character described, comprising a closed chamber, an imperforate bafile dividing the interior of the tank into anupper and lower-chamber, corrugated plates forming a tortuous passageway in the lower chamber, the outlet of the passageway communicating with the upper chamber through said partition, a fuel chamber formed by one of said plates'and the bottom of the tank, means for conveying fuelfrom the lower chamber to said fuel chamber, a. port placing the fuel chamber in communication with the entrance end of the passageway, an air intake tube placing the entrance end of the passageway in communication with the atmosphere and having its intake positioned above the lower chamber, and an outlet for the upper chamber.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification.

V MANLY E. CARROLL. 

